The Lion's Heresy(With Ponies)
by SuperSaiyanDiclonius
Summary: Hope for unity was burnt to in the fires of the Lion's Heresy, yet the Maidens of the Imperium would not yield to Arch-Betrayer's so easily. But hope and determination can only bring so far, For in the Grim Darkness of the far future...There is only War...
1. Prologue: The End of Harmony

**_Prologue: The End of Harmony_**

_The Maidens: brightest and most benevolent of the Emperor's Champions. The light that they brought to the Galaxy has persisted long after they faded into myth. And though the unity they brought to the stars was shattered by the ambitions of the Arch-Betrayer, the hope for a brighter future that they instilled in the hearts of humanity and it's allies continues to burn bright in the darkness of the 41st millennium..._

So little is known of the Emperor of Mankind, but far less is known of his greatest allies: The Maidens.

For ten thousand years, humanity has forever pondered when, where, and how these benevolent beings came to shine their light upon infant Terra.

The truth of their meeting has been revealed. It is now known that some time during the Dark Age of Technology, the man who would become the Emperor had travelled with several of His fellow Perpetuals, including Alivia Sureka, to the world of Molech, a Knight World only a few light years distant from Terra, in a one-way spacecraft.

Sureka watched as the Emperor entered a secret Warp Gate present on Molech, where He bargained with the powers of the Immaterium to gain new abilities and knowledge, including most likely the techniques needed to create the Primarchs.

_He fell to his knees as a vision came upon Him. A vision of his sons: the Primarchs, turning against Him._

_In one timeline, nine would turn. In another, only 6. But in every timeline, He would be laid low by the instigator of the rebellion: Horus, Dorn, Fulgrim, Sanguinius, all of them. There wasn't a single timeline where all of his sons remained loyal._

**_...If you would show me this, am I to assume you know how to stop it?_**

_The Emperor of Mankind asked of the apparition that gave him the vision, and then manifested itself in the form of a winged and horned equine._

To Sureka's shock, the Emperor would not alone.

So little is known of them, these apparently equine creatures that reshaped themselves, to a genetic level, as human females and helped the Emperor conquer holy Terra.

These nine women are who we know today as the Maidens, or the 'Brides of The Emperor' if one believes the more _fantastic_ stories about them.

What is known is that the Maidens returned to Terra with the Emperor. And when Terra was consumed by the Age of Strife, the Emperor and his Brides lit humanity's path through the darkness.

The Emperor himself is known to have said that through their aid, the Unification Wars were won 'twice as fast with half the blood' than what he would've been capable of on his own.

Yet, the true aid of the Maidens would not come through their own efforts, but through those of their sons.

Remembrancers have speculated for millennia the reasons for which the Emperor did not use the Maidens' genetics for every Primarch, perhaps he foresaw that the nine chosen would need it the most, but whatever the reason, each Maiden is known to be the 'Mother' of a single Primarch.

**_They shall be my sons, and in them will live the hopes of a unified humanity. Theirs will be the strength to prevail, not only when victory lies within easy reach, but even when it seems unattainable, when doom settles like a shroud all about. In those times of darkness, my noble sons will shine the brightest of all._**

However, even with every precaution the Emperor took to prevent the worst from happening, The Ruinous Powers of Chaos somehow spirited the superhuman children away through the Warp, leaving them scattered across the galaxy.

The gestation capsules containing the Emperor's unborn sons were scattered through the Warp to human colony planets long since lost to Mankind during the Age of Strife.

It may have been at this time, when first touched by the hand of Chaos, that the first seeds of corruption were laid in the breasts of those Primarchs who would eventually turn Traitor to the Emperor and His Imperium.

This was a massive setback to the Emperor's plans. He had counted on His superhuman generals to lead his army of conquest out from Terra. Without them, His plans, so many millennia in the making, rested on a knife's edge. He needed an edge, something to give Mankind an advantage as they struck out against a very hostile galaxy once more.

Despite this terrible setback, the Emperor was nothing if not adaptive, and He quickly developed another solution. Using the remaining samples of genetic material from each of His lost Primarchs, the Emperor crafted the first Astartes gene-seed, stem cell zygotes from which could be cultured genetically-engineered organs that, when implanted within a normal, adolescent human male host, would allow that man to take on many of the physical and mental properties possessed by each Primarch.

The Emperor implanted these organs into His bravest, strongest, and best human warriors whom He intended to stand by His side as the vanguard of the Great Crusade. Thus were born the Legiones Astartes, the Space Marines, and they would reconquer the galaxy for humanity at the command of the Master of Mankind.

**_They shall be my finest warriors, these men who give of themselves to me. Like clay I shall mould them and in the furnace of war I shall forge them. They shall be of iron will and steely sinew. In great armour I shall clad them and with the mightiest weapons shall they be armed. They will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight them. They shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best them in battle. They are my bulwark against the Terror. They are the Defenders of Humanity. They are my Space Marines...and they shall know no fear._**

Although an Astartes warrior was but a pale copy of his Primarch sire, the technique of implanting human beings with extra organs allowed for a certain degree of "mass-production," and where the Emperor's 20 superhuman sons had been centuries in the making, thousands of Astartes could now be engineered and trained in the matter of a single Terran decade. These techniques provided the Emperor with the required numbers of warriors to successfully launch the Great Crusade in ca. 798.M30.

During the earliest years of the Great Crusade, the more psychically gifted Maidens claimed that they 'felt' something. Something that they described as _a calling_.

The strongest of these callings was the one felt by Celestia. So strong was it's pull that she could determine it's source to lie on a planet near the Sol System.

And so, the Emperor chose to permit the Maiden to investigate with the Astartes born from her son to protect her if needed.

_Celestia walked in the direction dictated by the strange feeling, flanked only by two Legionnaires of the XVIth. It warmed her heart to know the entire legion had wished to follow her, but she had instructed them to bring the Imperial Truth to Cthonia._

_She found herself in a catacomb, and not long after entering she could hear a fight in the distance._

_Nearly outpacing her bodyguards in her sprint, she found the of the noise to be a gang of Techno-Barbarians trying to slay a woman and child protected by-_

_Celestia let out a shocked gasp at the sight of the boy. Though a preteen in appearance he towered over all but the largest of his opponents._

_Her gasp had alerted the Barbarians to her presence, and whether it was the raised bolters of her guardians, or her angelic presence, they chose to flee rather than fight._

_The boy noticed her too. "Who...are you?" The boy asked. Looking upon the Maiden as someone he knew, yet didn't._

_"You...you're my son, aren't you." Celestia said, nearly in tears._

_"...Yes, I believe I am." The boy concluded._

The infant Imperium rejoiced at the news that the first Primarch: Horus Lupercal, had been reunited with his mother.

The Emperor gave Horus full control of his Legion, returning Celestia to her destined role as her son's advisor, and permitted the other Maidens capable of sensing their sons to seek them out at the head of their Legions: The Thousand Sons, The Emperor's Children, The Imperial Heralds, and the Night Lords.

Meanwhile, the other Maidens joined the Emperor, Horus and Celestia at his side, and began the conquest of the known galaxy.

One by one, planets were brought into compliance through negotiation, the trading of goods, and if it were deemed necessary, the strength of arms.

This not only included human worlds, but also the Xenos worlds. This has been the subject of great unrest and controversy among the Imperium, and to this day the argument persists on whether or not if simply discarding the Alien from the Imperium could've prevented what was to come.

Yet, the majority of these doubts would fall silent after the Triumph of Ullanor, the greatest Imperial victory of the Great Crusade.

It is at this great triumph that the Emperor, alongside the Imperium greatest nonhuman ally: Eldrad Ulthran, revealed that they had begun construction of a Webway Gate upon Holy Terra.

The overseeing of the gate's construction was declared by the Emperor to be of such great importance as to require his undivided attention, and thus, he retired from the Great Crusade and named Horus as his Warmaster.

_The Emperor allowed the applause to thunder for a moment longer before raising his hand in an order of silence**."Though the necessity of a Warmaster is needed for now, our triumph at Ullanor has proven beyond doubt that the Imperium's ultimate victory draws near."**_

_Another cheer and applause came and went."**And thus, a possibility once inconceivable now confronts us. The day will soon come when the Astartes as they are will no longer be needed."**_

_This was meant with slight cheering, mostly from the Emperor's Children and the Word Bearers, but all others did not know how to take the Emperor's words._

_**"And thus, the Space Marines must change, adapt to a life without war. This has been done for most of the Legion's already." **The Emperor said before gesturing to the Legions and calling out their less bloody accomplishments._

_**"The Imperial Fists are the greatest builders. The World Eaters, for all their ferocity, are unmatched farmers. The Emperor's Children are artists beyond compare, and the Word Bearers have taught the Strength of Unity to all who are willing to listen."**The named Legions voiced their gratitude for the Emperor's praise, some more than others, while those that had gone unnamed either accepted the Emperor's judgment or chanced a bitter glare of jealousy._

_"**And it is for this reason that while a Warmaster remains necessary...a Peacemaker is just as needed."**Various reactions of agreement and concern echoed from this statement, and they only grew in intensity when the Emperor pointed out his chosen Peacemaker._

_**"You, Celestia, shall bear this title."**_

Celestia's and Horus' ascension made the third century of the Great Crusade it's brightest. Through the Peacemaker's guidance, the Blood Angels, Raven Guard, and White Scars found themselves feeling as though they belonged in an Imperium they served only to please their father.

Yet, even a golden age is not without it's tragedies.

Just a decade after the Triumph of Ullanor, members of the Night Lords Legion committed unforgivable crimes, resulting in Luna sentencing them to death.

The source of this madness was revealed to be a renegade named Gendor Skraivok, a descendent of Nostromo's criminal nobility.

Skraivok allowed his fellow descendents of the Sunless World's dethroned rulers to return to power, and drive the people to rebellion through fear of retribution.

Luna would attempt to end the matter as bloodlessly as possible...but this decision would cost her her life.

The death of a Maiden shook the Imperium to it's core, and there were none who argued the Night Haunter's decision to destroy Nostromo, but the damage had been done.

Skraivok would elude capture for nearly a century...until a far greater tragedy eclipsed Luna's death.

Terra was suddenly, spontaneously, besieged by the horrors of the Warp. Something had destroyed the psychic surrounding the Segmentum Solar.

The cause was revealed to be Magnus and his mother, Starlight Glimmer, crying out for help in the only manner available to them. Leman Russ had gone mad...and Prospero was under siege.

The Emperor would have little time to process this information, for he received a communique from Robute Guilliman stating that the Ultramar System had been engulfed by rebellion and madness.

Having already moved to send aid to Prospero, he now sent near-equal forces to quell the rebellion of the 500 worlds.

Having sent 6 Legions to Ultramar, and 7 to Prospero, those who knew of these tragedies expected them to be ended swiftly...but it was not to be.

As the Legions sent to Ultramar approached their query, a great Warpstorm manifested around the 500 worlds, trapping the Word Bearers and World Eaters within...but the truest horror came to the Blood Angels, Alpha Legion, and the Raven Guard, who suffered the storm to be born right on top of them.

It was only for the timely intervention of the Sons of Horus that Sanguinius was spared the grim fate of being eaten alive by his maddened sons, consumed by the mutation known as the Red Thirst. But no salvation would come for Corvus Corax who, like his sons, were maddened and mutated beyond recognition.

As horrible a tragedy as the birth of the Ruinstorm was...it was _nothing_ compared to Prospero.

_One of our false brothers lies dead, two of the Alien Witches that have poisoned the Imperium with their lies have been purged, and the galaxy has bore witness to our great power.__Now, we will bring humanity's undisputed rule to the galaxy, we will vanquish the Alien, we will cleanse the Mutant, we will silence the Heretic, and we will tear the Maidens' puppet from it's throne.DEATH TO THE FALSE EMPEROR!!!_

_Attributed to the Arch-Betrayer: Lion El Jonson_

Following the horrendous slaughter that would be remembered forevermore as The Dropsite Massacre, the Imperium was torn asunder. The betrayal of the First Primarch and his cohorts: The Salamanders, The Iron Hands, and to the greatest despair of the Imperium: the Maiden-born Iron Warriors, ensured that a large portion of humanity would follow them into Damnation for fear of being on the losing side.

The war that followed: The Lion's Heresy would see more blood spilt in 7 small years than in the 3 centuries the Imperium had fought for it's freedom and right to exist in a galaxy that despised it.

Heroes and villains would be revealed on both sides of the conflict, every Legion would have it's story to tell, and every story would reach it's climax on Holy Terra.

Whether it was Magnus avenging his mother's death at the claws of Leman Russ, Rarity avenging her son's death at the hands of the Gorgon, the fated rematches between Jaghatai Khan and Perturabo, and Mortarion and Vulkan, more would be settled than not before the XIIth and XVIIth returned with the loyalist elements of the Ultramarines.

Yet, the return of these Legions would do little to soften the final blow struck. As the returning Legions descended to Terra, the Lion would launch one final assault upon the Imperial Palace.

_The electric flash of teleportation faded, leaving Jonson and Luther to survey their surroundings...they were not alone._

_"Hmph, I remember you being a bit prettier the last time we met brother." Horus spoke as he glared in disgust at the inhuman thing his brother had become._

_"You are no more my brother than that witch that spawned you, xeno-blood." The Lion spoke with unfiltered hatred for the Warmaster._

_"Funny you should mention her." Horus smiled as he spoke before Jonson was enveloped in flames._

_Luther moved to attack Celestia as Horus moved to attack the Lion, and the prelude to the final battle began._

The duel between the Warmaster and the Arch-Betrayer was the greatest battle of the Heresy. It is said that the combatants sparred for days on end before it concluded.

Yet, the conclusion is spoken of with far less zeal than the fight itself. The Lion found an opportunity to break away from the Lupercal and mortally wound Celestia at the sacrifice of Luther. And in his desperation to save his mother, Horus left himself open to a fatal blow, and was swiftly slain.

Before the Lupercal's body even fell, The Emperor, drawn by the death of his favored son, rose from the Golden Throne and drew his blade against the Knight of Caliban's.

Weakened by his time upon the Throne, and desperate to turn his son from this path, the Emperor found himself hard pressed to stand against the champion of Chaos that the Lion had become.

In the end, it took Celestia's sacrifice to spur the Emperor's hand to obliterate the Lion that he may never return from the Warp as Luther inevitably will.

The battle was won. The traitor Legions began their retreat, and the loyalists began to reclaim all that was lost in the Heresy.

The events that followed, known as the Great Scouring, saw every planet in the Imperium mercilessly cleansed of Chaotic Taint. And though the World Eaters tried their hardest, none were more relentless in this task than the Sons of Horus led by the grieving Mournivial.

Yet, the Imperium's losses did not end with Horus and his mother, for the Emperor's wounds saw him entombed upon the Golden Throne, where he has remained for ten thousand years.

In the millennia that passed, the Primarchs and the Maidens have all but vanished. Only one remains to the knowledge of the Imperium: Lorgar, Primarch of the Word Bearers and son of Twilight Sparkle.

Yet, as the enemies of the Imperium close in around it in the form of traitors, Orks, Necrons, rogue Aeldari, the foul Drukhari, and the newly discovered Tyranids, the Aurelian can only wonder if the stability he has maintained and the recent compliance of the Tau Empire will be enough to endure the trials yet to come.

It is the 42nd Millennium, and there is only war, fought in cadence to the echoing laughter of thirsting Gods...

**_Author's Note:_**

And here it is, an all new Alternate Heresy...with ponies. I can already tell I'm going to get more flak than praise for this one, lol.

The beginning is intentionally vague, so I can flush it out more with each Legion's Index, rather than repeating myself, but don't worry you will get the majority of the reason for the conflict in the next chapter...for obvious reasons.

However, I am going to have do things a little differently normal Alt. Heresies, because has a 'No Bulletpoint policy', so I'm going to write the origins portion as the main chapter, post the other Bulletpoints on a group page separate from the fic, and release them all as one chapter on . (this does mean that will get updates sooner, since they're only getting about half of a chapter at a time before I combine them on )

Alright, I'll see you all with the origins of the Arch-betrayer. Be advised, the size difference between these indexes and my usual story chapters means I will all but certainlynotbe posting weekly.


	2. Index: Dark Angels

_A thousand curses upon the Black Knight of Caliban. He who tore the Imperium asunder, halted the Great Crusade, and laid low the three suns of the Imperium._

_Let all who hear the Lion's roar be taken not by fear for what may come, but by fury for what has been done._

The Dark Angels Traitor Legion is known and hated by all the galaxy as the champions of Chaos Undivided, and the sons of the Arch-Betrayer, Lion El'Jonson.

Yet, even as we purge their heresy from the galaxy they blight, one cannot help but wonder...how did it come to this?

**_Origins:_**

The answer, as is mostly the case, lies within the Black Knight's upbringing.

During the event that isolated the infant Primarchs from the rest of the Imperium, Lion El'Jonson was cast to a hostile, feudal Death World infested with monstrous, Chaos-warped Great Beasts that was named Caliban by its inhabitants.

The humans of Caliban had regressed to a feudal state, yet still retained sufficient technology to produce armour similar in appearance, if not quality, to Imperial Power Armour and firearms similar to Bolt Pistols. Caliban was kept relatively safe from the Great Beasts by the Knightly Orders such as the Order and the Knights of Lupus.

The Lion was discovered as a feral child by the Knights of the Order, including the greatest man of the age, Sar Luther. Luther then named the boy Lion El'Jonson (meaning "Lion, Son of the Forest" in the Calibanite dialect of Low Gothic).

In a very short time after this, the Lion replaced Luther as the greatest man on Caliban and became the Grandmaster of the Order.

The Lion killed a great many of the death world's Great Beasts, including one of only two Calibanite Lions on the planet, the other being slain by the psyker and Supplicant of the Order, Zahariel El'Zurias, with the aid of the latent psychic ability later called, "terror sight," that allowed him to slow down the perception of time long enough for him to find an opening in the animal's defences.

During his career as a Knight of the Order, the Lion led a planet-wide crusade of all the Knightly Orders against the Calibanite beasts.

If not for Luther, this crusade could not have occurred, as his influence was required to persuade the other Orders to participate. During the course of this crusade, the beasts were nearly exterminated. However, one of Caliban's Knightly Orders, the Knights of Lupus, chose to oppose the Lion for fear that they would rendered obsolete if the beasts were annihilated.

The Lion would not tolerate such madness, and mobilized a vast army of knights and men-at-arms to conquer the Rogue Order's fortress. Once inside...any hope the Lion of showing his rivals mercy was obliterated.

_Jonson all but snarled as the gate held on. He knew that all he needed to win this was to find their leader, Lord Sartana, and bring him to heel. There was no need for annihilation if he could still force compliance.__At last, the gate gave way. The Lion was the first one through...and the first one to see what waited for them.__The dreaded Beasts of the forests had been rounded up and caged. Hundreds of them snarled at the Lion and his followers, slamming themselves against their cages.__"NOW!!" Shouted the voice of Sartana. And by his order, the cages opened.__The lesser men of the Order backpedaled at the sight of the unexpected assault while the knights took up defensive positions. But the Lion...he strode forward, cutting down any beast that stood between him and his goal...and it wasn't compliance._

The Knights of Lupus had either hidden themselves away in tunnels or sought to attack the Order's flank while the beasts tore into their soldiery. The flanking maneuver may have worked, if not for Luther's valor.

Yet, Luther's efforts to ensure victory went unnoticed as Jonson seized it, slaying Sartana in his hideaway before doubling back to eradicate the remaining beasts.

Lion El'Jonson gave no praise when one did what was expected of them, a harsh mindset that would ultimately be the doom of the Imperium's golden age.

Eventually, a unit of the Emperor of Mankind's forwards scouts from the Ist Legion of Space Marines arrived at Caliban and identified the Lion as one of the Emperor's missing sons.

Jonson was immediately given command of the Ist Space Marine Legion when the Emperor realised he had not only found one of his lost sons, but the genetic father of the Astartes who had landed on Caliban.

Luther and the other members of the Order who passed the Legiones Astartes' trials were transformed into Ist Legion warriors, either as fully-fledged Astartes if they were young enough to undergo the implantation of the gene-seed organs, or through genetic manipulation to increase their physical abilities if they were too old for the process, like Luther.

After the new Astartes were ready, Jonson publicly re-named the First Legion the Dark Angels after an old Calibanite myth.

Luther, too old to be a Space Marine, was the first to be genetically modified and became Jonson's second in command, as he had been during the Calibanite crusade against the great beasts. Jonson then left with the Emperor and the newly re-named Dark Angels to continue the Great Crusade.

Due to the time they spent with each other on Caliban, the Emperor did not have the Lion reeducated on Terra, as was the norm. And thus, it would be some time before his first encounter with one of the Maidens.

It is known that the Emperor told his firstborn son of the nature of his supposed Brides, yet it is not known if the hatred he would later howl to the heavens was as present then as it was on Prospero.

_"...Xenos?" The Lion said in shock. He had never said or heard the word before, yet he knew it's meaning, and he had just been told that he was to see them as allies._

_**I understand your hesitation my son, but they have proven themselves, as have their sons.** The Emperor spoke._

_Jonson had to remind himself that those 'sons' were his brothers. The thought wasn't pleasant. Yet, he chose to trust the Emperor. "They are but Advisors, yes? To the Primarchs born from them?"_

**_Your interactions with them will be few and far between. They will have no power over you._**

_The Lion nodded curtly. "Very well, I will endeavour to avoid conflict with them, and focus on my own tasks."_

_Great Crusade:_

Complying with the Emperor's decision to ally with xenos, the Lion nonetheless refused, when at all possible, to associate with the nonhuman. Thus, of the available missions he could've participated in, he always chose complaince missions with human worlds. The Ist Legion soon rivaled the Death Guard's record of compliances...until Sarosh.

Sarosh had been negotiating with the Imperium for some time, but was lethargic in its attempts at imperial compliance, citing a cumbersome bureaucratic system.

The Lion decided to intervene and hasten compliance, as the world possessed relatively advanced technology and was rich in natural resources.

The delegation from the planet came aboard the Lion's flagship, The Invincible Reason, and negotiations were proceeding smoothly.

However, it was all a treacherous plow. The Saroshi had no intention of joining the Imperium, and used the conference with the Primarch to enact an assassination attempt, and deal the Imperium a devastating blow.

An atomic warhead had been brought aboard the Invincible Reason by the same shuttle that carried the delegates, and it was only for Luther's discovering it that the plan was thwarted.

_Luther made his way to the Lion's quarters with a professional's haste, careful not to let his excitement show.__Jonson had personally executed the Saroshi delegates, and ordered a vengeful conquest of the planet below. Luther had been set to join the crusade when word reached him that the Lion sought his audience._

At last. _Sar Luther thought to himself._ I have finally achieved beyond his expectations.

_Luther came to Jonson's quarters and let himself in, as he was expected, and found the Lion's back facing him._

_"You wished to see me my lord?" Luther said as more of a statement than a question...he had always hated referring to his adopted son as his 'lord', but now that he had that lord's respect, the pill was far less bitter._

_The Lion turned to Luther...and his hopefulness died in the Primarch's wrathful eyes. "...How long were the delegates stalling...how many hours passed before their treachery was revealed...how long did your weakness blind you?"_

_"W-weakness!? I-I reported it the minute I found it!?" Luther defended himself._

_"Are you so foolish as to not remember by whose orders you were sent to investigate that craft? Or were you too busy sulking that I had dismissed you from the conference after I began to suspect the Saroshis' intent?" The Lion asked of his second-in-command._

_Luther's words caught in his throat. He had indeed taken his task poorly, seeing it as Jonson underappreciating him yet again, and when he discovered the bomb in that state of mind, the desire to leave the Primarch to his fate, and inherit the Legion after his death, proved almost too strong to resist.__"...Buh-but I went back... I stopped it...I SAVED YOU!!!" Luther shouted._

_The augmented human was on the ground before his mind registered Jonson's hand colliding with his face. "Because Zahariel talked sense into you. The fact that you've shown that you are able to repent is the only reason you're still alive...and the fact that he saved you from yourself rather than warning me directly of the danger is why Zahariel will share in your repentance." The Lion said as Luther picked himself up._

_He wanted to shout, strike back, remind his ungrateful son of all he had done for him, how little he was repaid, what drove him to his doubt in the first place... but he knew that such words would be his death. "...Wuh-what are your orders...my lord..."_

_"Until such a time as you prove that I may trust you again, you are to return to Caliban and oversee the training of new legionnaires. You are to take Zahariel, and all others who knew of your hesitation and failed to report it with you. Am I understood?" The Lion's fingers, ever so slightly, curved around his sheathed blade.__"...Yes...my lord."_

Sarosh was purged in holy fire, and later resettled by Imperial colonists, and Luther returned to Caliban on his Primarch's orders...it is believed unanimously, that Sarosh was the final hope for Sar Luther...and hope was denied.

In the decades following the Sarosh incident, the Lion brought thousands of worlds into the Imperium by war and diplomacy alike, though he notably turned away from any diplomatic mission with agreeable Xenos.

It is believed that the Lion was passively seeking to disprove the ideals of the Maidens, and earn the Emperor's ear away from them...there are some who ponder whether or not if we would be better off had he succeeded.

_Ullanor:_

The Dark Angels were unable to participate in the monumental Ullanor Crusade, as they were preoccupied with other campaigns. However, the Lion nonetheless sent representatives to the subsequent Triumph...The news they brought back with them troubled the Primarch deeply.

Jonson could understand Horus' accent to Warmaster in the Emperor's absence, albeit jealously, but Celestia's ascension to Peacemaker... And the power given with her title, power over him...

The Lion retreated to his quarters and was not seen for days. When he returned, he sent a message of congratulations to his brother, and redirected his Legion's attention to the outer edge of known space.

Years later, the inevitable came and the Ist Legion personally discovered an empire of humans allied with xenos. And despite the Lion's wish for open hostility, they were willing to integrate with the Imperium.

_Jonson made no attempt to hide his frustration as the Gordian League awaited reply. "...shall we open fire my lord?" Asked Paladin Corswain: one of the Lion's honor guard._

_The Lion pondered it. Theirs was the only Legion out this far, they could easily make up any story they wished.__"...No. Inform the Gordian League that we are not the party they will negotiate with and contact the nearest Maiden-Born Legion. We are leaving._"

The Dark Angels reported the existence of the Gordian League to the Word Bearers, and left the situation in their capable hands. Twilight Sparkle sent transmissions of thanks to the Lion, but he had no interest in her praise. He had done the Emperor's will.

The Gordian League and their Shield Worlds have proven themselves to be a great Boone to the Imperium, especially when the Shield World technology was brought to Cadia, and to this day is a great and terrible reminder of what could've been.

The Dark Angels continued to expand the Imperium's borders for three years after the compliance of the Gordian League. But then, Caliban contacted the Lion...with news of betrayal.

_Jonson didn't even wait for his ship to land, he and his honor guard teleported to the fortress of Aldurukh and made all haste to the throne room where they knew Luther would be waiting._

My own sons?...Traitors? _The warning played through Jonson's mind over and over again.__When Luther was questioned over the vox network, he advised that he and the Primarch speak personally to avoid prying ears.__Lion El'Jonson threw open the doors to the throne room, expecting Luther to try and spout excuses for how it wasn't his fault or responsibility...but he hadn't expected the horror that awaited him...and the Imperium as a whole._

The Lion's Fall:

During his years of exile, Sar Luther had been singled out by the Ruinous Powers, and twisted into something unholy.

Through Luther, the entirety of Caliban and it's transhuman inhabitants became devoted servants of Chaos Undivided, the loyalist elements either being killed off or, in the final moments of the brief war, cast into the immaterium through sorcery.

The final loyal Dark Angels on Caliban sought to warn their father, but the warning was brief and unclear.

Luther was rewarded for his part to play in the Grand Scheme, the greatest of the First Traitor's rewards was a pact with a powerful independent Daemon known as Drach'nyen, which now takes the form of a reality-rending greatsword.

It was with this sword, his traitorous warband, and the power given to him by thirsting gods that Luther lured the first Primarch into a trap. Isolating him from his Legion but for his honor guard, and dueling him in isolation whilst his fellow Traitor, the Astartes formally known as Zahariel and now known and despised by the whole of the galaxy as Lord Cypher, used his connection to the Warp to overwhelm the Lion's honor guard with Daemons.

The Lion fought with all the honor and valor befitting a Primarch, but though he managed to injure Luther, one of his hearts was pierced by the Daemonic blade.

The Lion fell into a death-like sleep, and Lord Cypher was the only one present to tend to him as he wished. Lord Cypher would feign innocence and turn the injured Primarch over to the Chief Apothecary, whilst Luther was held prisoner until he could be executed by the Lion's own hand. But though Cypher was incapable of tending to the Lion further...the damage had been done.

In his mind, Jonson scratched and tore at the wound in his chest. He had seen the sword that pierced his transform into some foul mist. He had seen the mist poison his body while the filthy Traitor replaced the evil blade with Luther's Power Sword.

He tried with all his soul to remove the corruption in his system, made even harder by the visions he knew to be lies, but his sons saw the wounds he was inflicting upon himself as he slept and closed his wounds before the mist could bleed from him.

Yet still he fought. For seven days And seven nights, the Lion fought to remain pure...but on the eighth day...he looked.

He saw the Emperor barter with the Maidens' patron deity, in order to prevent what would've been.

The Maiden-Born would betray humanity, the Emperor would be injured by Horus...and Lion El'Jonson would take over the Imperium.

Under his leadership, the Traitor Legions would be hunted down and destroyed, the Dark Gods would starve and die out, the galaxy would belong to humanity. And when the time came that the Imperium advanced enough in medicinal practices to revive the Emperor, he would leave the Imperium in Jonson's care and retire.

That is what was meant to be, but the Spirit of Harmony intervened.

The Spirit saw the slaughter of all races but Man as abhorrent barbarity, and sought to change it. She convinced the Emperor that she knew how to ensure the Horus Heresy would never happen. The Emperor, wishing to save his favoured son, opened his mind to the False God. And when he did...she destroyed him.

The being that emerged from the Warp with the Maidens in tow was not the Emperor, but a puppet made to ensure that the Imperium would be merciful to the inhuman.

The realization of this treachery drove the Lion into madness. He demanded vengeance for his Father. Against the Maidens, against their wretched traitorous sons, against the alien filth and the weaklings that tolerate them, and above all else...he demanded vengeance against the False Emperor.

The Lion died in mind, body, and soul...and the Black Knight of Caliban was born.

_Luther started when he heard his cell door open. The sudden movement sent a spike of pain through him, for the Dark Angels had done as little as needed to keep him alive until Jonson could pass judgment._

_"Get out." Ordered the Chaplain that had opened his cell. Luther obeyed without argument...the Chaplain struck him to the ground regardless._

_Luther returned to his feet with barely a snarl of anger, and was escorted to the Lion._

_Luther was brought before the awakened and forced to kneel before him. "...Do you have anything to say for yourself?"_

_Luther smiled at his adopted son. "I only did what was necessary...and you know it."_

_The Dark Angels that bore witness shifted and clenched their fists as they did everything they could not to slay the traitor themselves...but the Lion merely sighed. "Yes, you did."_

_Jonson raised his sword and, to the shock of all, cut Luther's bindings. "You all have questions, and I will answer them in time, but for now, I must speak with my second-in-command privately on matters only just brought to my attention."_

_Loyal to the core, the confused Astartes obeyed their father's word. None of them even looked back...if they had, they would've seen the dark eldritch mist that poured from the Lion and returned to Luther._

Immediately following his private conversation with Luther. The Lion announced a full pardon for his betrayal and gave an explanation to the Deathwing and Ravenwing, who would pass it on to trusted individuals at a slow pace. The planting of the Heresy's seeds was a slow process.

_The Road to War:_

Whilst the inner circle of the Dark Angels saw to the corruption of their brothers, the Lion looked to his own brothers for potential allies.

He first thought of the Angel, Sanguinius, but had come to learn that during his coma, the father of the Blood Angels confessed the source of his mistrust and secrecy: a mutation within his Geneseed known as the Red Thirst.

His confession was met with forgiveness and sympathy, and apothecaries of the Death Guard requesting to study the mutation that they may find a cure.

The Maidens had sank their deceptive claws deep into Sanguinius while the Lion slept. Any attempt of turning his trust away without giving away his heretical intent was treated as a poor joke.

The Angel was lost, but there were others who had already seen the glimpses of the truth.

The whispers of the Dark Gods guided the Black Knight of Caliban to discover seeds already planted prior to his own fall. Chief among them being Ferrus Manus, who had come into possession of a Daemonically possessed sword during the purge of the Laer, and fallen to the temptations of Slaanesh.

The Gorgon was going mad with his inability to reach perfection in spite of the countless augmentations he and his sons made to themselves, and Jonson easily swayed him to his way of thinking by promising a means of reaching his perfection. As he did, Luther was working to secure more secretive allies.

_Luther shielded his face from the winds of Tsagualsa as he trudged forward until he came across a cave. Though it's occupants gave no sign to their existence, the whispers of the Neverborn confirmed Luther's suspicions._

_Upon entering the cave, Luther lost all visibility. He corrected this with help from Drach'Nyen, drawing the daemonic blade and using the light emitted from the souls trapped within as an impromptu torch._

_The First Traitor still found the cave difficult to navigate, with most of it's passages being all but inaccessible for even most Astartes who were not trained in scaling walls._

_Yet he knew that he would not wonder long before finding his quarry...he was certain that they had already found him._

_As if summoned by his thoughts, Drach'Nyen's icy blue light found itself eclipsed by an ember flame as a Daemonic Power Sword ignited mere inches from Luther's neck. It's wielder standing directly behind him._

_"I see you have already learned the Primordial Truth." Luther spoke calmly in spite of his situation._

_"Your sword looks better than mine. Perhaps I can bargin with your Daemon after I kill you." Spoke the unseen assailant._

_"Stand down Caedus." Another voice broke the tense atmosphere as the man Luther sought, Gendor Skraivok, revealed himself. "If you've come here alone then you're either a fool, or you have something to offer."_

_Luther smiled at the disgraced Night Lord as his cohort removed his blade. Others of their ilk emerging from the shadows. "What I have to offer is vengeance against your hypocritical father, and a chance at tearing down this Imperium built on peace and restraint in favor of one where the strong will rule the weak."_

_Even through the Traitor's helmet, Luther could envision his eyes narrowing. "Go on..."_

The inclusion of Skraivok's warband allowed the Traitors to start expanding weak points in the Imperium at the benefit that premature discovery would allow blame to be pinned on known traitors.

The Rogue Night Lords were secretly transported to the Ultramar System to learn the long buried secrets of the paranoid XIIIth Legion and use them to separate Guilliman from the Imperium, and sway him to join the Lion.

While the Night Lords played their part, the Gorgon moved to acquire another ally...in the form of the Maiden-Born Primarch: Perturabo.

Jonson was notably outraged at the thought of allying with a Maiden-Born but Ferrus was able to convince the Lion to give their brother a chance to repent for his tainted blood.

Begrudgingly, the Lion allowed the Lord of Iron his chance, tasking him with securing allies in the Cult Mechanicum, before moving on to recruit Leman Russ.

The Wolf King and the Lion had a rather violent history. At some point during the Great Crusade, the Dark Angels and the Space Wolves Legions were assaulting the planet Dulan that had not given in to the Imperium's demands to become a compliant world.

The leader of the rebels had insulted Leman Russ by naming him "The Emperor's Lapdog." Russ and his Space Wolves planned to assault rebel leader's stronghold for this blemish on their honor.

While they were busy planning, the Dark Angels took the initiative and brought the fight to the capital instead and the Lion himself killed their leader. Russ found the Lion with the dead leader at his feet and immediately attacked his brother Primarch.

They fought for a full day and a night, the combat ending only when the Lion threw Russ through a table. When Russ got up, he started laughing at the foolishness of their quarrel.

The Lion, incensed that his brother appeared to be mocking him, hit him square in the jaw, knocking Russ out cold. Russ awakened many hours later to find that Lion El'Jonson and his Dark Angels had already left the planet.

If Jonson had his way, the fued between them would probably had gone on until the heat death of the immaterium. But avenging the Emperor was more important than the Lion's grudge against the Wolf King.

_"...Could you...repeat that?" Russ said in shock._

_Lion El'Jonson gritted his teeth, squeezing his bent knee with the hand he had placed upon it. "I said that I was sorry."_

_The Wolf King looked at him with an impassive face, making the Lion believe that he had wasted his time and pride in a foolish endeavor, then Russ let out a tired sigh. "Alright Jonson, ya have my attention."_

_The Lion quickly rose to his feet. Upon further examination, he realized that his brother seemed...out of it. He knew that the Wolf King had changed since the Nikea Council, where the Maidens and their spawn easily swayed the Emperor to their view on psychic powers._

_The Lion had no qualms with the use of Librarians, but he did consider Magnus to be a little over-tolerated, and he now knew why. "Your suspicions about Magnus and his vile mother were correct, but I'm afraid it's too late to prevent the damage."_

_The Wolf King's expression changed immediately. "What do you mean? What have they done?"_

_"The Emperor is dead, the being who denounced your claims at Nikea was but a puppet." The Lion explained._

_Russ lunged forward and wrapped a large hand around the Lion's throat. Jonson was ready to fight, but the look on his brother's face stopped him._

_The fury he felt at the Lion's claim faded in an instant, replaced by confusion, rememberance, and finally, realization._

_Russ removed his hand. "Leave me...I need to meditate." The Lion nodded and left the Wolf King to his meditation with his Runepriests._

Confident that his brother would make the right choice, the Lion left him to his own devices for the time being.

As he left Leman Russ to his meditation, the Black Knight was informed by Perturabo that, not only had he found an ally in Fabricator General Kelbor-Hal, but in the Salamanders.

The sons of Vulkan had been changing for some time, claiming that they had realized that they and the Imperium at large were only coddling humanity and allowing it to grow soft. It would later be known that the Drake Lord and his sons had been infected by Nurgle's Rot and turned to the worship of the Plaguefather.

The Lion returned to his duties, to avoid suspicion, but secretly planted Cults of the Ruinous Powers upon any human planets he brought into compliance. Eventually, Leman Russ contacted him, pledging his allegiance, and all but demanding to assault Prospero.

The Black Knight agreed, but added that they would need to wait, as the Maiden-Born would undoubtedly come in their entirety and crush them through strength of numbers.

To the Lion's slight surprise, Leman Russ offered to attack alone and let his fellow traitors feign loyalty a little longer to ambush their unsuspecting brethren.

The Lion reminded the Wolf King that he would be vastly overpowered and suffer great losses, but Leman Russ was determined to pay whatever price was necessary to end the threat of unchecked sorcery.

It later became known that Leman Russ knew of the Dark Gods prior to Jonson's fall, and had been slowly swayed by Tzeentch corrupted Runepriests that he was powerful enough, and wise enough, to bend the immaterium to his will.

In preparation for the assault against Magnus and Starlight Glimmer, Leman Russ committed the ultimate blasphemy, sacrificing his wolfsiblings, Freki and Geri, to become a champion of the Great Planner: a Daemon Primarch.

The psychic backlash of Russ' transformation had catastrophic effects on the Vlka Fenryka, turning all but the psychically inclined into mutant man/wolf hybrids known as The Wulfen.

With the Runepriests psychically controlling the Wulfen, and using their dominance over the immaterium to summon vast hordes of the Neverborn and bind them to the summoner's will, Leman Russ set a course for Prospero.

As the Wolf King began his assault, the Lion contacted Skraivok. The rogue Night Lord had been far from idle, having discovered the source of Gulliman's paranoia and forging several Cults of Chaos within the Five Hundred Worlds with assistance from traitors among the Ultramarines.

The Lion gave Skraivok the order to reveal himself, beginning a civil war within the Five Hundred Worlds.

News of these catastrophes reached the Emperor at nearly the same time, forcing him to divide his forces.

The Warmaster was tasked with securing Ultramar, while the Lion was sent to rescue Prospero. The Lion was relieved to find all of his allies among his assembled fleet.

His allies assembled, and his enemies divided, the Lion was ready.

_"__TO ME BROTHERS!! TO ME!!!" Shouted Amon. The Thousand Son Sorcerer could not be more relieved to see the Imperial fleet emerging from the Warp. Already, he could feel thousands of psychic signatures calling to him for use as beacons._

_The surrounding Thousand Sons marines that were ungifted in Warpcraft disengaged the Wulfen and the thrice damned Runepriests that commanded them before crowding around their Librarian brothers who began teleporting en masse to their cousins._

_Amon did the same, bringing no less than twenty with him. He reached out through the Warp to the nearest psychic signature among the fleet. Then, as if their minds were arms, allowed his cousin to pull him from the planet to safety._

_The teleportation was swift and without incident. The Thousand Sons showed their limits and nearly collapsed upon themselves for the several days they spent fighting against the Wolves._

_But while their brothers would be allowed rest...they would not._

_The weary Astartes had no time to react as they were fired upon. Amon, who was at the center of the group, survived only for those who cut down before his eyes as he threw up a psychic shield in front of him and his few remaining brothers._

_Warp Lightning shattered the shield like glass. Amon was too worn, his enemies too numerous and too fresh._

_As his brothers were put to the sword around him, Amon was approached by the treacherous Librarian that had pulled from the frying pan and into the fire. "I have plans for you cousin." The Dark Angel said beneath his hood._

As the Thousand Sons were relieved of their plight, the Maidens and their sons found their lust for vengeance against the Wolf King risen a thousand fold by the news of Starlight Glimmer's death, and the Lion happily let them go first, while he and his allies made up the second wave, save for Perturabo.

The Tyrant of Olympia, dropped with his mother in the first wave...and almost immediately turned on her.

At first the Lion feared that Perturabo's impatience would undo their ruse, but the Lord of Iron gave no sign as to the Heresy at large.

The Lion was not only relieved, but delighted by this development. For the White Scars had attempted to break away from their engagements to reinforce Rainbow Dash, and paid for it in blood.

Lion El'Jonson deployed near the Warhawk under the illusion of reinforcements, his allies doing the same.

The moment the Traitors landed...the drying blood on Prospero's surface was slickened anew.

_The Lion's Heresy:_

The Dropsite Massacre was among the most catastrophic defeats in the Imperium's history, and Prospero is remembered to this day as a world of unending sorrow.

Starlight Glimmer had been torn to pieces by Leman Russ, Fulgrim was beheaded by Ferrus Manus, and Rainbow Dash was robbed of one of her alien wings and cast into the immaterium.

Yet, for all the damage inflicted, it wasn't a complete victory. The Night Haunter, who had been locked in a long Crusade against the denizens of Commorragh when Prospero had been attacked by Leman Russ, had broken away and arrived just in time to provide support for the Loyalists and allow them to retreat.

While the Lion cursed his inability to wipe out the loyal Legions, he was relieved to hear that a similar fate had befallen those sent to Ultramar.

The tribute and sacrifices paid to the Gods by Skraivok's Cults on the outer rim of Ultramar resulted in a great Warpstorm that saw the Word Bearers and World Eaters trapped within Ultramar for the foreseeable future.

While this news did please the Lion, it was the fate of the Blood Angels and Raven Guard that interested him the most. The possibility of turning two other Legions to his cause quickly became one of his primary objectives, but for now, he ordered the Salamanders, Iron Warriors, and Iron Hands, builders all, to begin seizing resource rich planets and preparing for the greatest war in the Imperium's history: The Lion's Heresy.

_Jonson looked upon the captives with the eyes of a conqueror analyzing his newest weapons of war. "You may begin."_

_The Sorcerer bowed before turning to face the captives. At his command, seven mortals were sacrificed for each of the seven Astartes._

_At first, there was no sign of the ritual's effect. But then, the Astartes began to shudder. The shuddering turned into violent seizures. And then the transhuman warriors began to mutate into something abominable._

_Arms turned into claws or tentacles. Legs into talons or hooves. Mouths filled with predatory teeth sprouted from their faces or chests. They grew extra limbs or eyes._

_When the screaming stopped, the possessed Astartes rose to their feet. Their leader, possessing the body of Amon, approached the Lion and kneeled to him_. **_"What do you ask of us, my lord?"_**

Planets across the Imperium rose in rebellion as the secret cults created by the Dark Angels, and others forged by Vulkan and Ferrus Manus revealed themselves and flew the Lion's banner. The broken Legions soon found themselves fighting a multifront battle. It was only for the efforts of the Imperial Fists that no such rebellion was successful near the Segmentum Solar...save one.

Kelbor-Hal revealed his allegiance to the Traitors, beginning the civil war known as the Schism of Mars with reinforcements from the Iron Warriors and Salamanders.

With the galaxy in Chaos, and his allies keeping the war machine rolling, the Lion only saw one immediate threat to his newborn rebellion.

In spite of the isolation of two Legions sent to Ultramar, and the damnation of two others, the Sons of Horus were completely unharmed while the Alpha Legion only reported the disappearance of their Primarchs and their mother...just thinking about that thing caused him to look over his shoulder with an arm raised to prevent a pie in the face.

The Lion's forces were(in his mind) more than enough to crush the Lupercal underfoot, but the aid of the Alpha Legion would prove dangerous. So he enlisted the aid of Leman Russ and his Runepriests.

The brief war between the four Legions would last for nearly a year, and each clash would end in a stalemate. This would change when the Night Lords intervened.

These were not Curze's Night Lords, but Skraivok's emerging from the Ruinstorm to add their murderous blades to the ever closing jaws that threatened to swallow Celestia and her son.

Yet so swift a victory was not to be, Konrad Curze arrived and added far more reinforcements to the Loyalists than Skraivok offered the Traitors, and tipped the scales even more in his favor by destroying Skraivok's warband in all but a few individuals who scattered to the winds.

Infuriated by this, the Lion chose to break off the Crusade for Horus' head...for now.

The Lion's retreat separated him from Russ, but brought him to a new ally...or rather, a tool.

_Jonson couldn't hold back the disgust he felt when he looked upon his brother. What had once been Corvus Corax was now little more than gibbering machine of murder and madness._

_Yet, whatever machinations drove he and the other mutants of the Raven Guard blinded the beasts to any who were favored by the Ruinous powers, as proven by the Cultists that selflessly served the beasts._

_"I am sorry brother, I wish there had been another way...but you were blind. You couldn't see the Maidens for what they were." The Lion lamented._

_"But he sees now my lord." A cultist half whispered through his teeth. "He sees all in the light, the shadow, and in the Warp."_

_The Lion didn't bother to look upon the deranged mortal as he stared into his brother's black empty eyes. "...And what does he see?"_

_The cultist's smile defied logic by growing wider. "His master...the master...of all."_

The Raven Guard, through primal instinct, aided the cause of Chaos. And none too soon, for the Lion had been pursued by the Night Lords and the Alpha Legion.

The two Legions may have been able to pick the Dark Angels apart on their own, but the Raven Guard pursued them as they retreated into the shadows. The brief war ending with the loyal Legions in retreat, and the Night Haunter captured.

The Arch Betrayer had been insulted by a Konrad Curze in their final duel, and so he took his brother alive and gifted him to his Chaplains with the order: _Make him repent._

_The Ruinstorm:_

As Konrad Curze was left to his dark fate aboard the Invincible Reason, Jonson would seek to regroup with Leman Russ. He followed the Space Wolves' trail into the Ruinstorm, and found him seeking the death of Twilight Sparkle.

Seeing the advantage of the Maiden's death, the Black Knight chose to aid the Wolf King in this endeavor.

The two Legions brought everything they had alongside the treacherous elements of the Ultramarines, but the faith of the Word Bearers and the fury of the World Eaters and the assistance of Robute Gulliman proved too much. The Lion was forced to retreat after Leman Russ was banished into the Warp by Angron.

The loyalists would remain imprisoned within the Ruinstorm for some time longer, but Jonson would have no rest. Upon exiting the Ruinstorm, the Lion's flagship was assaulted and boarded by the Night Lords, along with the last loyal remnants of the Blood Angels and a detachment of Raven Guard that had been absent at the time of their Legion's damnation led by the Primarch Sanguinius. Their target: Konrad Curze.

The Dark Angels did their best to prevent the Primarchs escape, but it was all for naught. The Lion could only howl in fury as his brothers escaped his wrath.

After this point, nearly three years after the Dropsite Massacre, the Lion focused his efforts on opening the way to Holy Terra. The path ahead was bloody, made even more so for the Imperium's alien allies.

Though the Lion would never admit it, he knew that the only reasons that the war was as equal as it was was the fact that Vulkan and Perturabo had permitted warmongering xenos races that had surrendered to the Imperium to join their rebellion, though he had every intention of cutting them lose when the time came.

Finally, after four years of bloodletting the likes of which the Imperium had never known before or since, the Traitor Legions and their puppets invaded the Segmentum Solar.

_The Solar War:_

More blood was spilt in this one system than the rest of the galaxy. The Solar War had technically been fought since Kelbor-Hal conquered Mars, but it began in earnest when Perturabo and Ferrus Manus struck at the system's twin Warp Gates located at Pluto and Uranus while a massive armada of Dark Angels led by Luther, Space Wolves led by Chief Runepriest Kva, Raven Guard led by instinct and Dark Mechanicum forces, along with Xenos swayed by the Traitors to match the Imperium's Alien allies, sought to simply move over the Imperial defenses.

The Primarchs would meet powerful opposition along the way. The Imperial Fists, the Sons of Horus, the final remnants of the Blood Angels and Thousand Sons, the Night Lords, and the White Scars were already awaiting them.

Jaghatai Khan faced Perturabo at Uranus beside the final remnants of Iron Warriors loyal to Rainbow Dash, and to the Lion's fury, banished him before the Traitor Iron Warriors forced the Warhawk's retreat through numbers and ferocity.

Upon Pluto, the Iron Hands would brave the fury of two warriors of the Mournival. Horus Aximand, and Tarik Torgaddon.

The Sons of Horus each led their own companies into battle, reinforced by the Imperial Army regiments and Ork Freeboota mercenaries...but the Iron Hands were undeterred.

The vile servants of Slaanesh fielded heretical Daemon Engines fed by the pain and misery of trapped souls, imprisoned Daemons, and yet living victims bound in the machines inner workings, and the Daemonic daughters of their patron god.

In the end, Tarik Torgaddon forced his brother to retreat while he held the enemy at bay to buy him time, the brothers argued as long as Aximand dared to try and take his brother's place, but Tarik would prove the more stubborn of the two.

As these battles took place, the main fleet found itself hazarded by the Night Haunter, a thorn in the Lion's side that he saw fit to remove from the war. Thus, Luther baited Konrad Curze into boarding his ship and attempting to assassinate him. An attempt that once again leave him at the First Traitor's mercy.

_"You damn fool. If you had any brains at all, you would kill me and be done with it." Curze spat at the Fallen Angel._

_Luther sneered at the Maiden-Born Primarch, and slashed him across the chest and arms, just below his heart, with his now Daemonic Blade. "My Chaplains told me of your visions Curze. Of the assassin that the Emperor will send to destroy you when your usefulness ends. If you fear this fate so much, why ever would I save you from it?"_

_Curze looked the traitor in the eye, strong despite his injuries, and said. "Because I will be useful to the Emperor as long as I can kill you."_

_Luther stabbed the Night Haunter through the stomach and twisted the blade. Delighting in every grunt of just-restrained agony as Drak'Nyen absorbed his life essence. "No you won't, Because_ I_ will be the Emperor your assassin serves. And all your efforts to hide from her blade will be for naught."_

_Luther's words were accompanied by a click and a hiss as a containment unit opened behind the Night Haunter._

_Curze struggled against the two Chaplains who wrestled him into his prison, but his injuries were too great. He was beaten into submission by the Chaplains' corrupted croziuses and thrown into his prison. As the latches closed, a temporal displacement field saw the Primarch frozen in time._

_"Jettison him." The traitor ordered. He would next see the Primarch as a severed head._

The loss of the Night Haunter signaled the end of the first phase of the Solar War as the Night Lords retreated to deeper into the Segmentum Solar, breaking into strike forces that would wait in ambush at key strategic points along with the Alpha Legion and allied Aeldari.

The armada's crawl to their target was slow and bloody. But eventually, it split in half. Luther pushing for Luna, and Kva leading the mad Cultists that served the Raven Guard to an artificial meteor known as The Comet.

Kva would encounter minimal resistance enroute to The Comet, but upon landing, he found himself ambushed by the vengeful son of Starlight Glimmer: Magnus the Red.

Luther would fair no better. For the defenses of Terra's moon were overseen by none other than Ezekyle Abaddon and the repositioned Horus Aximand.

As the battle for Luna raged on, the Phalanx, carrying Rogal Dorn and Sanguinius, and The Vengeful Spirit, carrying Horus Lupercal, moved to reinforce Abaddon.

But the Primarchs' counterassault would never arrive. It was believed until this point, that the remaining Blood Angels had resisted the madness that consumed their brothers, but this was merely an elaborate trap set by Chaos.

As the Phalanx engaged the Traitor Legion armada, the remaining loyal sons of Baal succumbed to the Red Thirst, with Sanguinius himself, through his exposure to the Warp, was used as a conduit for a portal into the Immaterium. Bringing forth his missing sons from the Warp, along with their new leader, a powerful Bloodthirster called Ka'Bandha.

The Warp taken Blood Angels rampaged across the near-numberless decks of the Phalanx. Slaughtering as they pleased. The Imperial Fists fought a vicious battle against their corrupted cousins while Dorn and Sanguinius fought against the Bloodthirster.

The Warmaster teleported from ship to ship with his Justaerin bodyguards in an effort to help his brothers slay the Daemon. It at first appeared as though they succeeded, but Ka'Bandha was reborn within moments gloating that as long as the portal tied to the Red Angel's life remained opened, he could never be vanquished.

As the battle upon the Phalanx deteriorated, and Abaddon continued to hold Luther at bay, Kva turned the tables in his battle with Magnus by sacrificing his own life and that of the Wulfen that had once been the Vlka Fenryka's First Company to return Leman Russ from the Warp. Reigniting the duel they fought on Prospero...with nearly the same result.

Back on the Phalanx, Sanguinius valiantly tried to end his own life to end the losing battle upon the Phalanx, but Horus and Ka'Bandha blocked his attempts. One trying to find another way to win, and the other confirming that there was no such path.

The battle between them ended when Sanguinius jumped into an attack Horus at aimed at the Bloodthirster, dying upon his brother's Talon and taking Ka'Bandha and the Blood Angels with him.

As Horus grieved over his brother's corpse, the Wolf King forced Magnus' retreat and completed a Chaotic ritual Kva had started, bringing the full Traitor Warfleet into Luna's orbit with the Invincible Reason at the tip of the spear.

The Phalanx was forced to retreat for the damage dealt during the battle against the Blood Angels, but the Vengeful Spirit rushed to meet the Invincible Reason in a brief exchange of Broadsides in order to extract Abaddon and Aximand from the lost battle against Luther.

The Solar War had ended...and the Siege of Terra has begun.

_Luther knelt before the Black Knight of Caliban. "I have opened the way for you my lord. And I personally ensured that Konrad Curze will not be a problem any longer."_

_"Proceed with the next stage of the invasion, the throne awaits liberation." Came the Lion's reply._

_"At once, my Lord." Said Luther as he rose and left, knowing very well that the throne would soon be his._

_As he left the Lion's chambers, he was greeted by Lord Cypher. "Ah Zahariel, what brings you here?"_

_Cypher grimaced at the use of his old name, but did nothing to correct Luther. "I sought to warn you Sar. I know you plan to betray Jonson, and I believe that to be unwise."_

_Luther waved his hand in dismissal. "Nonsense, if the betrayal were my idea alone, your worries may have had merit. But this is the will of the Dark Gods. Jonson is simply a puppet who will soon realize that his efforts to save humanity has doomed it. The realization will drive him to madness and threaten to erase humanity, as is the reason we have the aid of the shattered remnants of the Cabal." Luther explained._

_"But when the realization devastates him, before he flies into his madness, he will be vulnerable...and I will strike him down, and make this galaxy my own."_

_The Siege of Terra:_

The Siege of Terra was concentrated on the Continent sized Imperial Palace. Daemonic Siege Engines forged by the Iron Warriors and empowered by the Blood God Khorne unleashed an unforgiving barrage upon Rogal Dorn's defenses alongside the Nurglite armaments of the Salamanders while Leman Russ led thousands of Wulfen to war against the loyalist defenders with the mutant Raven Guard striking from the shadows.

Meanwhile, the Iron Hands directed their attention to Terra's civilian populace, feeding them to their numerous horrible machines that only served to cause to those who were and despair to those who heard the screams.

This diversion served the Lion by drawing the Warhawk's forces away from the Imperial Palace in a futile attempt to defend the defenseless.

The more thoughtful sadists of the Iron Tenth brought forth civilians for Chaos Sorcerers of the Dark Angels to use as sacrifices to the Dark Gods in order to bring Ka'Bandha and the Blood Angels back into the fray.

_**Nazrik abdulk gorruk Ka'Bandha. Nazrik abdulk gorruk Ka'Bandha.** Perseus continued the chant, he and the other Chaos Sorcerers and Runepriests sacrificing another servant of the Corpse Emperor in cadence with every syllable._

_When the eighth Sorcerer spilled his eighth gallon of blood. The mighty Bloodthirster emerged from the boiling hot pool, his new servants in tow._

_The Sorcerer smiled in satisfaction at the completion of his task...but the feeling was short lived._

While the Bloodthirster's return would aid the traitors' cause, it would also hinder them. Several of the Sons of Sanguinius had seen their father sacrifice himself to banish them back into the Warp, and while it wouldn't return the Angels of Baal from their madness, it did change them.

One of every three Blood Angels now lived through the final moments of their Primarch, attacking all that their false memories potrayed as Ka'Bandha and the corrupted Blood Angels.

This unexpected development in the midst of traitors' costed them dearly. Several Sorcerers and Runepriests would torn apart by the berserk Astartes.

To make matters worse, the remnants of the Emperor's Children and Death Guard Legions had emerged from the Warp and were making their way to Terra.

The broken Legions had suffered greatly from the Dropsite Massacre and the uprisings on their home worlds. To the point that the two Legions combined barely had a small fleet.

The Lion ordered Vulkan to intercept them, but numerous strike teams of Night Lords and Alpha Legionnaires that had kept themselves hidden assaulted the Salamanders fleet's rear and flanks as they engaged the loyalist reinforcements.

Fortunately, the majority of the reinforcements chose to assist the White Scars in defending the Terran civilians with the Maiden Fluttershy in the lead. But the most elite units, led by Mortarion and Eidolon, added to the defense of the Imperial Palace with assistance from the Night Lords and Alpha Legion.

When the walls of Terra were finally breached, the Bloodthirster Ka'Bandha, along with Leman Russ and Vulkan, were the first ones through the breach and were immediately challenged by Magnus, Mortarion, and the duet of Sigismund and Abaddon.

The defense held. Ka'Bandha was returned to the Warp, and the two Traitor Primarchs were thrown back by their loyal brothers who quickly saw the breach filled. And it only got worse.

Word reached the Black Knight that the XIIth and XVIIth Legions had at last broken through the Ruinstorm and were making all haste to Terra. With the Iron Hands being pushed back by Fluttershy and Jaghatai, and the Imperial Palace holding strong against the Lion's steadily depleting forces, the addition of two more Loyalist Legions would end the assault on Terra with a Loyalist victory.

The Lion would not tolerate it. Calling upon the Sorcerers and Runepriests that survived the assault of the Blood Angels taken by the Black Rage, and ordered them to see the Traitors into the Palace.

He knew that the force would be small, but was infuriated to learn that the few Sorcerers left could only teleport a hundred beings, and only if Leman Russ stayed behind and aided them.

Thus, Lion El'Jonson, Vulkan, and their most elite fighters were teleported into the Imperial Palace in cadence with an artillery barrage that would be followed by another wave of attack led by Leman Russ and Ferrus Manus.

Once inside the palace, the Traitors first obstacle was a large number of Custodes led by Rogal Dorn. Vulkan would stay behind to fight the VIIth Primarch while his undying Plague Marine Terminators would bring death and decay to the Custodes.

The Lion would press on, Luther and the Dreadwing in tow, until the Lion's fated encounter with Horus and Celestia.

The duel between them shook Terra with it's ferocity, and again for it's tragic end.

_Horus brought Worldbreaker down upon the Lion's sword again and again. The tainted weapon swaying more violently to the side as Horus' strikes put more and more strain on the Black Knight's inhuman muscles._

_He only needed a few more strikes before his brother's guard would be opened enough for the Warmaster's Talon to end this. But just as the Lion's guard opened, he smiled._

_Horus didn't know what his brother was planning, and he had no interest in finding out, so he seized the opportunity to end the Heresy once and for all._

_Horus thrusted his Power Claw at his brother's hearts...as he began to shimmer._

_The Warmaster's Talon found it's mark not in the Arch Traitor, but the First Traitor. Luther smiled at the Lupercal as he was banished to the Warp._

_Horus felt his blood freeze as he realized what happened. His eyes immediately looking to where Luther had been fighting Celestia as the Justaerin fought the Dreadwing._

_His fear turned to despair. His eyes found the very image he had feared: The Lion removing his blade from his mother's stomach as she fell to the floor choking on her own blood._

_**NNOOOOOO!!!!! **The Warmaster howled as he charged the Black Knight. The Lion prepared to finish off the dying Maiden. Horus struck to intercept the strike...just as planned._

_Horus deflected the blade before it could his mother only for the Lion to use the momentum to turn the strike on Horus._

_Celestia couldn't even summon the strength to scream as her son's head flew from his body._

The Emperor arrived the split second after the Warmaster's death, and sought to end his wayward son's reign of terror.

The duel between them eclipsed that between the Black Knight and the Lupercal, and saw both combatants mortally wounded...if only they were mortal.

In the end, the Maiden Celestia sacrificed herself and used what energy she had left to engulf the Lion in the flames of the sun and present an opening through which the Emperor could draw upon his own psychic power to erase the Lion's mind, body, and soul.

The battle was won. At long last the Black Knight of Caliban was vanquished. What few remnants of the Dreadwing remained fought desperately to claim the Lion's sword, the only remaining proof of his existence, and only succeeded for the Loyalists concerning themselves with the wounded Emperor and the bodies of the Warmaster and his mother.

Upon the Dreadwing's return, Lord Cypher, the highest ranking Dark Angel left, ordered a full retreat as the Word Bearers and World Eaters emerged from the Warp.

The sons of Lorgar pushed for Terra to aid the wounded, but Angron's ilk mourned the fallen through vengeance. And thus, the Great Scouring began.

_The Great Scouring:_

Any illusion of allegiance and brotherhood that tied the Traitor Legions together died with the Black Knight as the Traitors dispersed to their own home worlds.

The Dark Angels made themselves as small a target as possible while the Iron Warriors, Iron Hands, Space Wolves, and Salamanders fought every step of the way, allowing Lord Cypher's flight to Caliban to be relatively easy.

However, the Dark Angels would have no rest upon returning to Caliban. The lost loyalists that had been consumed by the Warp had returned, and taken Caliban in the name of the Emperor.

The Dark Angels had lost a great deal of their forces during the Siege of Terra, but they still held a numerical advantage over their loyal kin.

The fleet to planet bombardment saw half of the Dark Angels remaining ships lost, and Caliban shattered but for a single piece containing the Lion's fortress. The battle between them ended with the arrival of the vengeful Son of Horus, Ezekyle Abaddon.

The traitors fled their judgment...the loyalists did not.

_Captain Ormand forced his hearts still as the Maiden-Born Astartes advanced towards him with their weapons drawn. He and his men remained kneeling as they awaited retribution._

_The steps ceramite clad boots grew louder, as did the bull-like snorts of Ezekyle Abaddon, whose hair, once genetically identical to his Grandmother, now burned with the fury of a Quasar._

_The vengeful son of Horus halted before the kneeling Captain and surveyed the Dark Angels below him._

_"...Where were you until now?" The Terminator snarled as his warriors formed up behind him, ready to execute the Dark Angels in an instant._

_Captain Ormand didn't know why he still lived after what his Legion had done. Perhaps it was because he and his followers wore the same armor and insignia while the wings of their traitorous kin clung to an eight pointed star rather than a holy sword. But he nevertheless answered Abaddon's question. "We became trapped in the Warp shortly after we discovered Luther's heresy. We thought we had emerged within days...but time does function as it should in the immaterium."_

_The Son of Horus flexed the fingers of his Power Claw as he contemplated how to proceed. "...Aximand!" Abaddon suddenly shouted._

_Little Horus broke rank from the assembled Sons of Horus and came to stand beside the larger Astartes. "Yes Brother-Ca-...that is, Legion Master?"_

_"I'm leaving you in command of the War Oath. See these Astartes to Terra, Erebus will know how to deal with them." Abaddon ordered._

_Ormand was not the only one among the Dark Angels who visibly started in shock that their lives wouldn't end on Caliban, and Aximand appeared to share their confusion, but he nonetheless followed his orders._

As the War Oath disembarked for Terra, Abaddon returned to the Vengeful Spirit and resumed pursuit of Lord Cypher.

The Great Scouring endured for three years before the Traitor Legions reunited for a push into the Eye of Terror.

The Eye has been heavily guarded since the discovery of Cadia by the Word Bearers nearly a century ago. The planet had been brought into compliance through the witchcraft of Lorgar's mother, Twilight Sparkle, which could banish Daemons from their hosts and remove Warp Corruption from those who were willing to be saved.

Immediately following the Purge of Cadia's Taint, a vast swarm of Daemons flew from the Eye to retake the planet.

The Word Bearers drove them back and left Argel Tal upon the planet to lead it's people and preach the Strength of Unity.

The Word Bearers were not the only ones defending Cadia, vast numbers of Astartes and Imperial Regiments, including companies of Iron Warriors and Dark Angels that remained loyal as they stared into the Warp and saw it for what it was, turned their rear-most guns from the Eye to deny the Traitors escape.

Yet for all the Imperial opposition, there was a different reason that the Traitor Legions had hesitated to brave the gauntlet to the Eye. The strongest among it's guardians was not among the Imperium's warriors, but among it's allies. The most infamous Alien associated with the Imperium of Man: Eldrad Ulthran, ruler of the Aeldari Craftworld of Ulthwe...which now orbited Cadia like a moon.

Prayers and sacrifices made to the Ruinous Powers saw another horde of the Neverborn pour from the Eye as the Traitor Fleet drew near, diverting the Craftworld for the time being, but the Imperium was unforgiving.

The Vengeful Spirit emerged from the Warp and burned a warpath to the Invincible Reason.

The apparently suicidal attack saw Abaddon's fleet surrounded by the Traitors, but relief swiftly followed in the form of the World Eaters.

Caught between two Imperial armadas, Lord Cypher took the only route left to him. Leaving their lives in the Hands of the Dark Gods, the Dark Angels initated a Warp Jump and deactivated their Gellar Fields.

_A maelstrom of madness greeted Cypher as the Warp consumed him. Time and space lost all meaning as a thousand voices screamed in his ear, and yet were barely heard._

_It was impossible to know how long he endured the horrors of the immaterium, but when it ended, he was on the surface of a planet again._

_Standing to survey his surroundings, Cypher realized that the planet he stood upon lied within the Warp, as evident by the blood red sky._

_The planet had no atmosphere, it's inhabitants were kept alive solely by the whims of the Dark Gods, and looking upon the sky showed Cypher all the twisted parodies of life the Warp had to offer._

_Daemons the size of Planets swam through the Warp like whales through the oceans, smaller Daemons flew on wings carried by wind that didn't exist, and at the center of it all, appearing as though a sun, was the Eye of Terror._

_"Beautiful, isn't it?" Cypher started at the voice behind him, and again when he realized who it belonged too. "Luther?"_

_"I'm glad to see you made it Zahariel. Your assistance will make everything easier." Luther said._

_"Assistance!? We've LOST Luther!!" Cypher shouted._

_"No. The Lion lost, as he was meant to, but _I _have only just begun."_

_The Eye of Terror:_

The Loyalists broke the Traitors over their knee at Cadia, but they couldn't prevent a scarce few from escaping into the Eye of Terror, and the only slain Primarch who wouldn't return from the dead was Corvus Corax.

The remnants of the Traitor Legions would each find their banished Primarchs waiting for them upon their new home worlds, each populated by mutant tribal humans that had somehow managed to survive the horrors of the Warp.

From these humans, the Traitor Legions would begin to repopulate their broken brotherhoods. But it would not take long before disagreements led to bloodshed, desertion, and the splitting of the Traitor Legions into small Warbands.

This splintering would befall the Dark Angels as well, but far less so than the other Legions.

The Ist Legion may not have splintered at all, except that their last ditch effort to escape saw several of them scattered throughout real space and the Warp, with some not emerging until millennia later.

But of the two thousand Dark Angels that survived the Great Scouring, over a thousand of them landed upon the Daemon World Nabilac.

Nabilac was forged by the Ruinous Powers from the fragments of Caliban, and repopulated by the great beasts and the resurrected Knights of Lupus.

Sar Luther would bring the revived Order to heel, and name Nabilac the seat of his Empire from which he would deliver the galaxy to Chaos Undivided. Upon the arrival of the Dark Angels, Luther renamed his followers the Black Legion.

Under Luther's leadership, the Black Legion would grow in size. Sporting over ten thousand battle brothers and millions of slaves both mortal and Daemonic in as little as two decades.

There would be many setbacks, as various warbands raided the Black Legion's home world for slaves and supplies, but Luther would either drive them off, grind them to dust, or add them to his Legion's ranks.

Soon, Luther began sending messagers to various Warlords of high quality in an effort to accumulate forces for a single purpose: finishing what the Lion started.

It would be a painstaking process, but the very charisma that once ensured that Caliban would kneel to Lion El'Jonson soon gathered hundreds of thousands of Traitor Astartes, hundreds of Greater Daemons and Daemon Princes, and even the assistance of the Daemon Primarch Perturabo.

And thus, barely half a century after the Lion's Heresy's conclusion...Sar Luther launched the first Black Crusade.

_The Black Crusade:_

The Traitor Legions poured forth from the Eye of Terror following a wave of Daemons. The Neverborn smashed against the Shield World of Cadia like rain upon an umbrella.

Luther cursed the fact that the Lion's mercy upon the Gordian League would add to his strife. Even now, Jonson's shadow looms over him and challenges him.

Nevertheless, the Khornate Iron Warriors proved their armaments to be superior to the Shield World's defenses. Meanwhile, an Iron Hands warband known as the Sons of Medusa assaulted Ulthwe with a large army of Daemonettes and the infamous son of Slaanesh: Fabius Bile.

For Luther himself, he and Cypher led the assault on Cadia while Perturabo engaged Angron, who arrived as reinforcements. Eventually, Luther found himself dueling for his life against Abaddon the Despoiler.

_**"KRRRAAAAAAAAGHH!!!"** Came the howl of fury as Abaddon brought his Power Sword onto Luther._

_The First Traitor deflected the earth shattering blow with contemptuous ease. The power of Chaos Undivided flowing through his veins allowed him to easily keep pace with the vengeful Terminator._

_Drach'Nyen clashed with Abaddon's Power Sword numerous times until the Son of Horus overprimed his next swing and gave Luther a window of opportunity._

_Stepping forward quickly, Luther thrusted his blade into the Despoiler's primary heart._

_Abaddon shuttered as Drach'Nyen began to devour his soul, prompting a smile from the First Traitor. "Heh heh heh heh, in another life, it could've been you wielding this power."_

_Luther leaned on his blade, driving it deeper. "Tell me Abaddon, did your grandmother ever reward you for your service as I have been rewarded for mine?"_

_"Oh, what am I saying? Of course not. Celestia and that mewling child of the Warp could never wield such po-" Luther was made to bite his tongue as Abaddon headbutted him so hard, he lost his grip on his blade and fell down._

_Abaddon gripped the hilt of Drach'Nyen while Luther recollected himself. "You are not worthy to speak our Mother's name...AND YOU KNOW NOTHING OF HARMONY'S POWER!!!"_

_Luther could only gape as Abaddon removed Drach'Nyen from his chest, the Daemon within screaming in pain as the Despoiler began to radiate psychic energy, his flaming hair burning brighter than ever before as his eyes burned the same._

_A deep primal fear gripped the First Traitor as he realized what was happening. The Maiden's blood coursing through Abaddon's veins had given him a taste of Celestia's psychic power. A phenomenon most known for its existence in Erebus and Talos Valcoran._

_"For the Emperor!" Abaddon shouted, raising Drach'Nyen, whose eldritch blue flames were being consumed by ethereal golden flames that were more benevolent in appearance than the flames illuminating Abaddon._

_"For the Lupercal!" He added, gripping Drach'Nyen with the Warmaster's Talon as Cadia's sun, long dimmed to near nonexistence, reignited and realigned to further illuminate the Despoiler._

_"**FOR CELESTIA!!!" **Abaddon brought the sword down with the promise of Divine Retribution._

_Luther wanted to dodge__, _needed_ to dodge, but his body wouldn't move. Whether he was gripped by a fear-driven prey instinct, or held in place by divine intervention, none can say._

The first Black Crusade was remembered not for the return of the Traitor Legions, not for the Imperial heroes slain by the champions of the Ruinous Powers, but for the valiant end of the greatest hero the Imperium of Man, and indeed the very galaxy had ever known.

Abaddon the Despoiler had purified the Daemon Sword Drach'Nyen, now known as Daybreaker, and used the genetic gifts of the Maiden Celestia to assault the traitor warfleet with weaponized solar flares.

Smaller vessels were completely destroyed, and more than half of the enemy voidships were rendered shieldless and obliterated by the Imperial Navy and the World Eaters, who then spearheaded a countercharge into the remaining half of the Warfleet, forcing their retreat.

The solar flares avoided allied ships, and caused harm to them, the only collateral damage were in a few thousand mortals were struck blind by the sudden increase in light. But this price was all but ignored as even the blinded Cadians mourned the loss of the Despoiler far more than the loss of their sight.

Yet, for all the damage Abaddon inflicted upon the Traitors...he had missed his true mark.

_Lord Cypher: Most mysterious and hunted among the Dark Angels. There are none alive today who remember his true identity, and fewer still who know the true extent of the sins he has committed. But one shines over all to be known to all the Imperium._

_Just as the great hero Abaddon the Despoiler brought the Emperor's Wrath to bear against Sar Luther, Cypher disengaged his duel with noble Sigismund and shot the First Traitor dead, preventing his true death._

_It is known that Cypher once served as Luther's second in command, but as the First Traitor's Black Crusades continued to be thrown back by the Strength of Unity, the Marine Without Master became disillusioned with Luther's madness and struck out on his own._

_Countless attempts to capture or kill him have been evaded, his pursuers coming up empty handed, if not slain._

_Recently, Cypher's actions have changed in nature, being more to the Imperium's benefit than to it's downfall. There are some who consider that Cypher has begun to accept the Strength of Unity and pursue forgiveness, but even the most forgiving teachers at the School of Unity upon Monarchia wouldn't dare to trust him unbound._

Though Luther would return to plague the Galaxy anew, his every following defeat would see his followers diminish and other warbands turning down his offers.

By the end of the 39th Millennium, the entirety of the Black Legion are former rivals that Luther has crushed underfoot and enslaved.

For the Dark Angels as they were, only a few warbands remain, fewer than those born any other Traitor Legion. Yet, there are some who have yet to emerge from the Warp since the flight of the Invincible Reason, even the ship itself remains lost.

As the 41st millennium draws to a close, Alpha Legion spies have confirmed that Luther is once again on the road to war, preparing to launch his 13th Black Crusade.

_"Are you sure it is here my lord?" Asked the ship commander._

_"Question me again mortal and your soul will feed the Neverborn. The Dark Gods have never lead me wrong." Luther insisted, much to the commander's doubt._

_"Nothing is coming up on our scanners my lord." Reported one of the personnel._

_"Then it hasn't arrived yet. We will just have to wait." The First Traitor said._

_"Wait? For how long? It could be another ten millennia befo-" The commander had uttered his last doubt. There were scarce few gasps of shock as Luther cut the man down, most had expected it the moment he opened his mouth._

_"Death is the fate of all who dare to doubt my right to rule over all." Luther snarled, he opened his mouth to say more...but then, a storm broke out in front of his ship._

_Warp Lightning flashed as thunder cracked, the energy formed a bubble that then exploded, blinding all who saw it, some permanently._

_Luther alone had been able to see the phenomenon of reality being torn asunder, yet he would never be able to verbally describe it...if only for the memory being drowned by the feeling of excitement and anticipation of the victory._

_"And all the galaxy will learn...I was never meant to be doubted, never meant to be overlooked, I was meant for more...FOR GODHOOD!!!" Luther howled with a madman's joy as his ship prepared to dock with the Invincible Reason and prepare it for war._

**_Organization:_**

Prior to their fall from grace, the Ist Legion was organised into specialised formations known collectively as the Hexagrammaton, and colloquially as the "Six Wings." These specialised formations existed outside the regular chain-of-command and organisation of the Dark Angels Legion. These formations were an amalgamation of the Terran pre-Principia Belicosa approach and organisation of the proscribed formations of the early Legiones Astartes and Caliban's knightly orders.

Today, Luther has the Black Legion organized into Ei_ght_ Wings, the two new wings being labled the Daemonwing and the Ruinwing, which specialize in taming the Neverborn, and unleashing the destructive power of the Warp onto the Legion's enemies.

Outside of Luther's ilk, Dark Angels renegades have been found in numerous Warbands with various ranks, some are simple mercenaries, others are powerful warlords. These Warbands are organised haphazardly, and are little more than pirates.

Though are some exceptions to the rule, as a select few Warbands bear some semblance of order and compentence beyond that of pirates. There have even been some confirmed reports of Dark Angel Warbands retaining the Six Wings of their parent Legion, though none who imitate Luther's Eight Wings.

_The Repentant: Throughout the seven years of the Lion's Heresy, Imperial Loyalists have come into contact with rogue Astartes from the Traitor Legions that have cut all ties to their brothers and Primarchs._

_Though some of these Loyalists would become auxiliary units for other Legions, such as the Iron Warriors devoted to Rainbow Dash who were adopted by Jaghatai Khan, the majority of these lost Loyalists would become the Repentant._

_Led by the former Dark Angel Ormand, The Repentant were given a task of Penitance by the Word Bearer Chaplain Erebus. They were to share their mercy with every traitor they encountered, allowing them to repent for their crimes, and only killing in self defense._

_There are numerous theories regarding the Chaplain's Judgement. Some say it was seen as the best way to teach the sons of the Lion the strength of Unity and ensure that they would not make the same mistakes as their Primarch._

_Others think that perhaps it was an act of spite against the merciless Dark Angels...but others still see the necessity of these Angels of Mercy._

_It is a known fact that as the millenia go on, the Traitor Legions are recruiting more and more slaves from Imperial worlds into their ranks. These former servants of the Emperor are then convinced that they will only face execution should they turn away from their masters in order to ensure their loyalty._

_It is the sacred duty of the Repentant to disprove these lies, and risk their lives to offer the same forgiveness that allowed their creation. For this reason, the Imperium has begun to notice an evergrowing stream of renegade Astartes seeking to renent for crimes that are more the victims of than anything else._

**_Homeworld:_**

The Dark Angels were born to the Death World known as Caliban, a beautiful green world covered almost completely in vast forests that housed numberless dangerous beasts.

Caliban was destroyed in the conflict between Lord Cypher of the Dark Angels and the Repentant's first Supreme Grand Master, Ormand.

The Dark Gods claimed the obliterated shards of the planet, and used them to form it's tainted clone: Nabilac.

Nabilac is horrid hellscape of Warp colored forests, sentient plants possessed by the souls of the Calibanite citizens that were ground to dust with their planet, and is populated by the same beasts.

Nabilac also possesses a large gaping hole where a Warp Storm rages. A temple devoted to the Dark Gods has been built over this storm.

The reason for this is that Nabilac is not whole. A single piece of Caliban survived the planet's destruction, and has become the fortress monastery of the Repentant.

Discovering this is what led Luther's Black Legion to learn of their loyal kin and the forgiving hands they hold out to any traitors no matter their sin. This has caused the Black Legion to zealously guard the exsistance of the Repentant from the rest of the traitor legions, and vow to complete Nabilac by destroying the Repentant in their entirety.

**_Recruitment/Geneseed:_**

While Luther's Black Legion recruit exclusively from Nabilac's mortal population, other Dark Angel warbands are known to steal potential recruits from other warbands, including the Black Legion, and from Imperial planets.

While finding suitable Aspirants for Geneseed implantation is no small challenge, it is trivial compared to harvesting and storing the Geneseed itself.

While the Black Legion's own stock is plentiful enough to survive the numerous mutations that plague all who inhabit the Eye, many are the warbands who were forced to merge with others because the amount of usable Geneseed was too small for the warband to survive.

A notable exception to this occurance is a Dark Angels warband known as the Fallen, appropriately named as the warband had suffered the entirety of it's Geneseed stock to become corrupted and unusable.

Any attempt to implant the mutated Geneseed resulted in the Neophyte's death, but the warband refused to reunite with the Black Legion.

Desperate to escape their extinction, the Fallen commited the rest of their enslaved Aspirants to a Daemonic ritual that saw nine of every ten Aspirants die, and the survivors being possessed.

The possessed youths were implanted with the tainted Geneseed, and the Fallen were reborn as one of the few warbands made up entirely of Secondborn.

For the Repentant, there are no such issues. As not only do they primarily recruit from repentant Traitors, but their Geneseed has remained pure throughout the millenia, allowing for a steady stream of recruits whenever their numbers are threatened.

**_Beliefs:_**

Under the Lion's command, the Dark Angels had always strived to achieve a single goal: Serve the Emperor.

Even when the Lion fell to Chaos, this was their goal, and Chaos was but a tool.

But when Jonson was slain, Luther turned away any implications of misguided noble intent. Replacing it with a legacy of greed and selfishness that would let the galaxy burn for the sake of material gain.

The Black Legion still continues to see Chaos as it's tool, though some members will seek to gain favor from the Dark Gods or powerful Daemons for the sake furthering their ambitions, and achieving power. There are also numerous warbands that have given themselves fully to the Primordial Annihillator.

The Repentant have devoted themselves fully to the task given to them by Erebus. Whether or not they believe in this task, or simply see it as a punishment for the sins of their kin, remains unknown.

**_Combat Doctrine:_**

No matter how much the varying Dark Angel warbands differentiate from each other, the one continuous similarity is that their leaders are skilled tactitians capable of positioning their forces where, and when, they can deal the most damage to their enemies.

This is especially true for Luther. Whose ability to earn the assistance of countless allies, from fellow Traitors, to Greater Daemons, to Drukhari Raiders, wouldn't be half as effective as it is for Luther's knowing exactly how to put his allies to use during his Black Crusades.

_Azrael:Though Luther sought to demonize the Lion for his failure, and destroy any who yet clung to his ideals, there were still those who would discover the Lion's beliefs and adopt them as their own._

_Having abandoned the Black Legion during the 11th Black Crusade, the Dark Angel known as Azrael quickly forged his own warband known as the Unforgiven._

_The Unforgiven are named for the shame Azrael feels that the Lion and the True Emperor have gone without a champion for nearly ten millenia, and their goal is to return the True Emperor's dream of human supremacy to the galaxy._

_Though the Unforgiven would be vastly outnumbered by it's every foe, Azrael would make his name known through his remarkable tactical prowess._

_The Unforgiven strike fast and hard knowing exactly when, where and how to attack their target, and when to expect reinforcements to arrive from which direction._

_Investigation after the fact has revealed to the Imperium that the Unforgiven arrive in a target system in secret and spend years gathering information through observation and the interrogation of captured citizens, guards, engineers, and janitors, anyone with knowledge of layouts while not being vastly missed._

_The Unforgiven have recently run afoul of the Repentant's 4th Brotherhood, slaying the Grand Master and Captain before being driven off by the rallying Astartes._

_The highest in command, formerly their Chaplain, and now Grand Master Asmodai, looked into Azrael's soul and saw a misguided good man. He is determined to help him understand that the Emperor and the Spirit of Harmony work together against the Ruinous Powers, and guide him down the road of repentance._

**_Battlecry:_**

The war cries of the 1st Legion warbands vary from **_Death to the False Emperor!_** to **_For the Dark Gods!_** and everything in between.

The Black Legion are known to call out **_The galaxy is ours by right!_** as well as **_Join your god as a corpse!_** and **_For Luther and for Chaos!_**

When facing the Sons of Horus, the descendents of the Lion declare **_You will fall with your Three Suns!_** or **_Die with your mother's light!_**

The Repentant stride upon a battlefield with messages of deliverance for the Traitors and the planet's native population alike. Examples include **_Look to the Imperium for salvation!_** or **_The Maidens are all-forgiving!_**. During Asmodai's first encounter with Azrael, he is known to have declared **_You are Unforgiven for there is nothing to forgive! Repent and be reborn!_**

**_Author's Note:_** And done! By the Elements, I did _not_ know what I was getting myself into when I started this. Holy crap!

Okay, I may have bitten off more than I can chew with this fic, but I'm still gonna finish it, no worries on that front. Having said that, I am going to spend the next week working on Broken Beast and then work the Emperor's Children after, and jump back and forth routinely. (Fans of the lost Primarchs, have no fear. The fate of the IInd will be explained in the index of the XIth)

But there will be a slight delay, as it has come to my attention that Lost Loyalty is almost a year old. So I'm going to touch it up. Correcting any misprints and lore rapes, and rewriting the events of Istvaan 3 to fit the canon. (Because I _finally_ read Galaxy in Flames)

Okay, that's all I got. Let me know what think of the chapter and the fic at large. Check my Youtube channel for amateur Music Videos on this fic and others(maybe make a request) and stay tuned for more. (also, I'll be posting an updated prologue beside this, enjoy)


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